Here in the DR there are basically three general options available for the private individual who wishes to acquire a firearm.
1) Shotgun
2) Semiautomatic pistol
3) Revolver
2 & 3 are portable defense options when away from home and there is a perceived need to able to counter an assault with effective force quickly and easily. Pistols and revolvers require a degree of skill and training over and above that needed to effectively operate a shotgun. As such they are not particularly good options as a home defense tool. A skilled marksman may be able to use one with good effect but that is not most people or even the casual firearms owner.
For home defense it's difficult to come up with a better all-around choice for the average person wishing to include standoff force delivery than a 12 gauge shotgun. A short barreled tactical shotgun is relatively easy to maneuver around corners and can deliver considerable stopping power in short order even with less than perfect aim in low light situations. You need to be good with putting holes in an intruder and quite possibly your microwave, your fridge, a TV or whatever happens to be close to and behind your target.
As with any firearm, a shotgun is not something you can just bring home and leave in the closet. Especially for anyone who has not used one before, you need to fire it at least 20 times. A shotgun has a bit of a kick that you need to experience so that you don't drop it after pulling the trigger for the first time. The other 19 practice shots allow you to get comfortable aiming, cycling the weapon between shots and watching a water jug get reduced to chunks of scattered plastic.
Firing the shotgun gets it dirty so you get the opportunity to clean it and become familiar with its various parts and their operation. Now you can secure it with a trigger guard/lock and secret it away in your closet or wherever, bringing it out at bed time and once a month to give it a quick wipe down with a little bit of gun oil.
Having a firearm in the house is a serious decision. Clearly people make mistakes from time to time and a mistake with a firearm can be disastrous. Without a doubt, having a firearm in your home increases the possibility of unintended tragedy just because there is a firearm in the house. Kids, guests, burglars will all find a firearm enticing if they stumble across one by happenstance. You do have to consider how you are going to secure it and store it when it is not directly under your personal control so the maid doesn't blow her foot off or worse, yours.
Obviously a firearm is a tool of last resort. Unlike the movies, the average home owner is not going to go skulking around in a darkened home looking for a confrontation. You will retreat with your firearm as far as you can, putting as many locked doors between you and the intruder as is practical while you wait for the police. When you are in the unfortunate position where you can retreat no further and wait no longer for outside help, then, having force equalizer at your disposal, can give you the capability you need to avoid serious injury and survive a potentially violent encounter with someone equally motivated to come out on top.
"To thine own self be true." As with many decisions, there are pluses and minuses when choosing to become a firearms owner. It is a serious decision worthy of considerable forethought. Just having a firearm available and certainly using one can potentially set you on a path fraught with emotional, physical and legal turmoil. You have to be good with the decision to use one if you ever really need to. Hesitation and indecision can be your undoing - just like on the TV show Survivor when someone gets sent home with an immunity idol in their pocket. Both you and your spouse have to be on the same page, as the actions of one, will definitely involve and affect the other.
Firearm ownership is not for everyone and reconciling this reality is the first step in becoming a responsible firearms owner.